“WATCH OUT!”

17 “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.”

Romans 16:17

With Satan's influence in our world and the different kinds of temptations all around us, including the dangers of false teachings circulating online, how can we live a successful Christian life?

Romans 16:17-23 shows Paul’s instructions and greetings to Christians in Rome. He warns his readers to watch out for false teachers and steer clear of them. Such duplicitous men do not serve Christ but themselves, confusing the young in faith and causing division within the church. Paul’s rather harsh language in reference to false teachers is quite noticeable. Paul encourages the believers in Rome to be on guard against ideas that go against apostolic teaching.

Even during the infancy of the church, Satan has been deploying his demons to control men and preach wrong, deceitful doctrines. Paul’s exhortation is for believers to, first, identify false teaching, and second, avoid it. Paul urges us to grow not just in love, but also in knowledge and discernment.

“Discern” comes from a Greek word that means “to distinguish, to separate by diligent search, to examine.” It is the ability to properly discriminate or make determinations. It is directly related to wisdom. God’s word itself is to be used to discern the thoughts and intentions of a person’s heart. A discerning mind demonstrates wisdom and insight that go beyond what is seen and heard. A discerning person acknowledges God’s word from falsehood.

More than any other time, this generation requires wisdom and discernment. Misinformation spreads as easily as browsing social media, including the consumption of malicious AI content, which looks real at first glance but is actually a counterfeit. The same goes for so-called ministries that spew all kinds of lies that distract people from the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

For this reason, we have to arm ourselves with the truth of Scripture and deepen our relationship with the Holy Spirit. He alone can guide us into all the truth and keep us safe against the deceptive scheme of the father of lies.

Pursue the Savior today!

Photo by Piotr Chicosz on Unsplash